Stella Donnelly - Beware of the Dogs

Sticking up for yourself in the face of insurmountable obstacles seems like a thankless task. Whether it’s horrible bosses, shitty men, or even the people closest to you, it can often feel like the best recourse is just to stay quiet. But Stella Donnelly isn’t going to stand for that any more.

The Fremantle-based musician’s debut album, ‘Beware of the Dogs’, is all about grabbing the microphone and calling out shit when you see it; empowering people to stand their ground and challenge the status quo because, really, the status quo is outdated. It’s an uncompromising debut that knows exactly when to be funny, angry or even both. A chance for Donnelly to say “enough”.

‘Boys Will Be Boys’, the album’s centrepiece, is a perfect example of this. It’s a track that also featured on her EP ‘Thrush Metal’ and could feature on every Donnelly record going forwards; such is its power. A constant and powerful reminder that we still live in a culture that blames the victim of sexual assault, not the perpetrator. Written in 2016, one look at the news cycle shows that it’s still a message that needs to be repeated.

It’s in the delicate, measured way in which Donnelly sings lines like “You invaded her magnificence” and “I will never let you rest” that at once conveys sheer exhaustion at things still being the same, but also the quiet fury and drive to change it.